Reiki Healing For Pets

If It’s Good For Me – Is It Good For My Pet?

I sought alternative healing therapies to help with migraines. Appreciative of the results I experienced, and painfully aware of my pets aging (10 y/o Rottie, Max and twin cats, 9), I decided to find out if these alternative healing therapies were available for them to keep them healthy and aging gracefully for as long as possible.

Low and behold, alternative healthcare for pets is a thing! As it turns out, it’s a pretty big thing. Practitioners of alternative healing methods have been practicing this holistic approach on pets for quite some time. Pet owners who are using Acupuncture, Massage, Chiropractic, Reiki and other alternative modalities on their pets are seeing beneficial results not just in health but in behavior too. Which makes sense, who isn’t moody when not feeling well.

Intrigued, I decided to dig in to learn more.

Reiki For Pets

For this article, I wanted to focus on one modality and share my findings. I chose Reiki. After a local search, I located and reached out to a Reiki Master, Cathy Kearns. Cathy was kind enough to meet me for coffee to talk about the basics of Reiki.

Cathy explained that all living beings have Chakras (in Sanskrit it’s interpreted as points of physical or spiritual energy in the body). These fields of energy are like vortexes that store, send and receive energy. If these energy fields become blocked or unbalanced it affects performance, behavior and health.

To explain the concept, Cathy used a mobile phone as an example. She said to imagine a perfectly operating mobile phone, strong signal, calls come in and go out, clear sound, fast operating system. Now imagine that same phone in an area where the cell towers aren’t in clear range, this affects the ability to send and receive calls, calls are dropped or there is poor reception and interference. Now imagine the phone was dropped, the speaker slightly dislodged, the screen cracked, and there is an app that keeps running in the background quickly draining the battery. That’s a whole lot of problems interfering with the proper operation of that phone.

To put this into perspective as I understood it, when energy doesn’t properly flow back and forth something is off; there is a lack of balance. I get it. This makes sense to me. I’ve always known and believe that we are beings of energy and our bodies are capable of healing themselves to a great extent. As a society we often speak in terms of energy, “I’m sending you good energy,” “my energy level is low,” or “I don’t like their energy.” So if Chakras are these energy centers in our bodies, Reiki healing focuses on balancing them, clearing their paths to help ensure there is a bidirectional flow to help with the natural healing process.

What Is Blocking My Pet’s Chakra?

Circling back to the dropped mobile phone, here is where one incident leads to many things getting out of whack. That’s just life, a series of incidents. The bumps and bruises we experience along the way are all those things that happen in our day to day that can interfere with the proper flow of energy. That’s not unique to human beings. Pets too have feelings, emotions and experience trauma that affect their energy, emotional, and health state.

The energy blockage can be insignificant, just throwing life off balance which can be displayed in behavior. Or it can be an intense experience severely blocking the energy flow presenting itself as a health problem. Think of the blocked energy flow as if there was a blind spot, unclear communication, or not enough information getting through for our natural healing mechanism to do its thing even if other medical treatments are being used. Balancing the Chakras is meant to restore the energy flow, clear the path, that’s where Reiki specialists can help.

From A Pet Reiki Master

Cathy explained that animals are more receptive to Reiki healing than we are making them the perfect candidates for this type of therapy. She goes on to explain …

The term “Reiki” is usually translated as “universal life energy.” It is a holistic energy healing system, meaning it treats the whole being, addressing problems and healing at all levels: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Along with other therapies, such as Acupuncture, Qi-Gong and Flower Essence Therapy, Reiki is part of an emerging field of Energetic Healing.

I was first introduced to Reiki by a close friend. After experiencing the amazing energy, I wanted to know more. I felt so calm, relaxed, and at peace. I couldn’t believe it! I told her on the spot, “I want to learn how to do that!” That started my journey with energy healing.

I love being able to help people and animals in a noninvasive and holistic modality. After my initial training, I began to volunteer in the community to share this modality. I have shared Reiki sessions in a variety of situations and needs; during holistic fairs, hospice patients, patients coping with the effects of chemo, people trying to manage their pain from chronic illnesses, to name a few. I have also shared Reiki sessions with different types of animals.

During a Reiki session with a pet, I let the animal direct the session. Initially, the pet will feel the Reiki energy, then walk away. Then he returns for a little longer, then walks away. Each time the pet does this, he is getting familiar with the energy exchange. Finally, the pet will lay down or sit very close and relax, just to receive the Reiki energy. Often, the pet will lay down and sleep. A typical pet session will last for 30 minutes. When the pet has had enough, he will get up and walk away.

I often have people ask me why animals. If you have pets, you know they are a member of your family. As with any family member, you want to do all you can to help them stay happy and healthy. Reiki has the same benefits for our pets as it does for humans. With healthy animals, Reiki can help maintain health on all levels.

Reiki triggers the body’s natural healing response during a physical illness or injury in animals. It is a powerful tool for emotional healing following trauma, abuse, neglect, fear and trust issues, reaching deeply into even the most damaged spirits.

For high-strung or nervous animals, Reiki induces deep relaxation and stress-reduction and over time, can reduce the tendency toward nervousness. Reiki can accelerate healing after surgery or illness. It complements both conventional and alternative therapies and can enhance their actions and lessen their side effects.

Finally, for a dying animal and his people, Reiki provides compassionate support that can make the transition more peaceful for all concerned. There really isn’t any illness or emotional issue that can’t benefit from Reiki.

Reiki In Action

I wanted to hear from someone who had experienced great results with Reiki on their pet/s. I asked Cathy if she would connect me with a satisfied client and that’s how I met Brenda Winkle who was kind enough to share her experience with Reiki on her Dachshund, Sadie and her Chihuahua, Stella. Here’s what she said …

I was introduced to Reiki when my friend Cathy Kearns offered me a Reiki healing session. I felt great after the first session and became a regular client. Reiki is very relaxing and pleasant. You are left with a sense of well-being, often muscle tension dissipates or disappears, and you feel very similar to the glowing feeling you experience after a massage. The big difference is that this feeling of well-being and relaxations lasts much longer!

When my dog Sadie hurt her back we took her to our veterinarian to determine what had happened. My doxie received saline injections and acupuncture at the vet’s. She spent the next week on kennel rest, which was really hard on this lively girl. Having benefited from Reiki myself, once back home, I asked Cathy if she would come over to give my Sadie a Reiki healing session. She did, and the change in Sadie was almost immediate.

Sadie got as close as she could to Cathy’s hand and laid still for several minutes absorbing the Reiki. When the session was over, Sadie’s eyes looked more clear and she was able to wag her tail. She had increased mobility and seemed to feel a lot better. Prior to the Reiki, Sadie hadn’t been moving her tail and had been holding it stiffly because of her back injury. Reiki was instrumental in her healing.

After experiencing the benefits of Reiki myself and seeing the effects on Sadie’s recovery I decided to become a Reiki healer so I could be able to offer that healing to all of my dogs – and my family!

I have since taken Reiki I and Reiki II from Cathy at Reiki Renewal and am now one of Cathy’s Reiki master students to complete my training in June 2016. Since becoming a Reiki healer, I regularly offer Reiki to all of my dogs, our fosters dogs and my client’s dogs. It makes a big difference!

In my own pack, Reiki helps my long-backed dogs keep their backs healthy. Reiki has also had a significant impact on Stella, my epileptic Chihuahua. She now has fewer seizures, down to 3 in the past 9 months from having 1 to 3 seizures per week (on a bad week). The seizures end more quickly too. Stella looks much better now than before she was receiving Reiki.

I now work with many clients who schedule sessions for themselves and their fur babies.

Reiki Case After Case

There are tons of case studies and testimonials online. I found many Reiki testimonials at Reiki.Org. Numerous reported cases across the web indicate significant changes in pets behavior after Reiki energy treatment. Some pet owners have said that their typically grumpy, irritable, even aggressive pet behaviors are diminished if not gone after several Reiki sessions.

Does Reiki For Pets Work Or Is It Mumbo Jumbo?

When it comes to things that can’t be explained, you will always find the naysayers. And on the opposite end, you’ll encounter folks that swear by it.

After viewing many videos where pets were being treated with Reki, it was hard to tell whether it worked or not. My pets are peppy with no health problems thank goodness, but I couldn’t use them as test subjects. So I did the next best thing, I personally gave Reiki a try to experience the results. Cathy invited me for a 1 hour session to balance my Chakras. I loved the environment of her work space. Very relaxing, very Zen. I won’t go into detail but I will say this, that night I slept soundly (this is rare for me) throughout the night waking up relaxed and energized.

So does it work or doesn’t it? It’s not for me to say if it will work for your pet/s.

What I will say is that my pets mean the world to me. Even though they are exercised and fed good quality food, I am well aware that eventually their bodies will start showing signs of aging or other things can come up too. I know that I don’t like being in pain and I’m sure they don’t like it any better. I also know that pain affects my mood and my behavior and can’t imagine it would be any different for them. Lastly, I’m not one to welcome invasive treatment and I wouldn’t want it for them either unless there is no other choice.

I also know that more and more conventional veterinarians just like medical practitioners are incorporating unconventional practices as part of their treatment plans. They’re reporting pain reduction, faster healing times and better results. My guess is that there truly is something to all of this.

Since Reiki has the potential to help, and it’s not going to break the bank, the least I can do for my pets is give it a try when the time comes. I definitely believe Reiki has the potential to help them feel better.

Have you tried any alternate treatment on your pet/s that made a huge difference in your pet’s health? Tell us in the comments. We will all benefit from your experience.

Founder of KirinGie.Me, the only pet registry that rewards responsible pet parents. Together we’re making a dent on pet abandonment, relinquishment and euthanasia through community support, corporate sponsorship, and city partnerships.